NEA Grants Support 60 Orchestra Projects in First Round of FY19 Funding

February 14, 2019

NEA's First Round of FY19 Grants Support Orchestral Concerts and Community Programming

Sixty orchestras will bring live music, instrumental music instruction for young students, commissions of new works, and various engagement programs to their communities with the support of Art Works (Part 1) and Challenge America grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the first round of major grant funding in the 2019 fiscal year. Direct grants from the NEA are a crucial form of support for many community-based arts organizations, enabling grantees to leverage additional financial support from state, local, and private sources far surpassing the 1:1 nonfederal fund-matching requirement.

Forty-five Art Works grants totaling $1,342,500 have been awarded to orchestra projects directly for the purpose of presenting festivals, premieres of works by contemporary composers, music composition programs for youth, professional and pre-professional training for young musicians, and increasing public access to and engagement with live orchestral music. Additionally, numerous grants will support related projects, festivals, competitions, and training programs.

The NEA also awarded $150,000 in FY19 Challenge America support, which will allow fifteen orchestras to extend the reach of their orchestral music, educational programming, and community engagement activities to youth and adults whose access to the arts are otherwise limited due to geography, economics, or disability.

Upcoming NEA grant deadlines Mark your calendar with the following deadlines for NEA FY20 Grants for Arts Projects, the Endowment's major support category for organizations for projects anticipated to take place beginning in 2019.